The present invention relates generally to improvements in cartoners for inserting product into expanded open cartons and thereafter closing the carton with the product therein, and specifically to the provision of a cartoner that is adjustable to handle a wide variety of carton shapes and sizes, and an improved product infeed conveyor for such a cartoner which also inserts the product into the carton.
Cartoners heretofore available for this cartoning function are illustrated in United States Letters Patent No. 2,909,874 granted Oct. 27, 1959 to C. L. Barr, United States Letters Patent No. 2,956,483 granted Oct. 18, 1960 to E. A. Hartbauer, and U.S. Letters Patent No. Re. 24,965 granted Mar. 21, 1961 to E. A. Hartbauer. Although adjustable to a certain extent, the machines illustrated in these patents were not fully adjustable over a wide range of sizes and shapes of cartons to be handled thereby. Furthermore, adjustment of the mechanism to change the size of the carton being filled was often difficult and time consuming.
The prior cartoners also required the product to be fed from a single side thereof, rather than from either side thereof, whereby at least two versions of each machine was required in order to accommodate different layouts in the factory. Furthermore, these prior machines had both an article infeed conveying mechanism and an article insertion mechanism, whereby there was substantial complexity in the product conveying and insertion mechanism for these cartoners.